Ezekiel 5
Christian Standard Bible
Ezekiel Dramatizes Jerusalem’s Fall
5 “Now you, son of man, take a sharp sword,(A) use it as you would a barber’s razor, and shave your head and beard. Then take a set of scales and divide the hair. 2 You are to burn a third of it in the city when the days of the siege have ended;(B) you are to take a third and slash it with the sword all around the city; and you are to scatter a third to the wind, for I will draw a sword to chase after them. 3 But you are to take a few strands from the hair and secure them in the folds of your robe.(C) 4 Take some more of them, throw them into the fire, and burn them in it.(D) A fire will spread from it to the whole house of Israel.
5 “This is what the Lord God says: I have set this Jerusalem in the center of the nations, with countries all around her. 6 She has rebelled against my ordinances with more wickedness than the nations, and against my statutes more than the countries that surround her. For her people have rejected my ordinances and have not walked in my statutes.
7 “Therefore, this is what the Lord God says: Because you have been more insubordinate than the nations around you(E)—you have not walked in my statutes or kept my ordinances; you have not even kept the ordinances of the nations around you— 8 therefore, this is what the Lord God says: See, I myself am against you, Jerusalem, and I will execute judgments within you in the sight of the nations. 9 Because of all your detestable practices, I will do to you what I have never done before and what I will never do again.(F) 10 As a result, fathers will eat their sons(G) within Jerusalem,[a] and sons will eat their fathers. I will execute judgments against you and scatter all your survivors to every direction of the wind.
11 “Therefore, as I live”—this is the declaration of the Lord God—“I will withdraw and show you no pity, because you have defiled my sanctuary(H) with all your abhorrent acts and detestable practices.(I) Yes, I will not spare you. 12 A third of your people will die by plague and be consumed by famine within you;(J) a third will fall by the sword all around you; and I will scatter a third to every direction of the wind, and I will draw a sword to chase after them.(K) 13 When my anger is spent and I have vented my wrath on them, I will be appeased.(L) Then after I have spent my wrath on them, they will know that I, the Lord, have spoken in my jealousy.(M)
14 “I will make you a ruin and a disgrace among the nations around you, in the sight of everyone who passes by. 15 So you[b] will be a disgrace and a taunt, a warning and a horror, to the nations around you when I execute judgments against you in anger,(N) wrath, and furious rebukes. I, the Lord, have spoken. 16 When I shoot deadly arrows of famine at them, arrows for destruction that I will send to destroy you, inhabitants of Jerusalem, I will intensify the famine against you and cut off your supply of bread. 17 I will send famine and dangerous animals against you. They will leave you childless. Plague and bloodshed will sweep through you, and I will bring a sword against you. I, the Lord, have spoken.”(O)
Ezekiel 5
New American Standard Bible
Jerusalem’s Desolation Foretold
5 “As for you, son of man, take a (A)sharp sword; take and [a]use it as a barber’s razor on your head and beard. Then take (B)scales for weighing and divide [b]the hair. 2 A third you shall burn in the fire at the center of the city, when the (C)days of the siege are completed. Then you shall take a third and strike it with the sword all around [c]the city, and a third you shall scatter to the wind; for I will (D)unsheathe a sword behind them. 3 Take also a few hairs in number from [d]them and bind them in the hems of your robes. 4 Take again some of them and throw them into the fire and burn them in the fire; from it a fire will [e]spread to all the house of Israel.
5 “This is what the Lord [f]God says: ‘This is (E)Jerusalem; I have placed her at the (F)center of the nations, with lands around her. 6 But she has rebelled against My ordinances more wickedly than the nations, and against My statutes (G)more than the lands which surround her; for they have (H)rejected My ordinances and have not walked [g]in My statutes.’ 7 Therefore, this is what the Lord God says: ‘Because you have (I)more turmoil than the nations that surround you and have not walked in My statutes, nor executed My ordinances, nor acted in accordance with the ordinances of the nations around you,’ 8 therefore, this is what the Lord God says: ‘Behold, I, even I, am (J)against you, and I will (K)execute judgments among you in the sight of the nations. 9 And because of all your abominations I will do among you what I have (L)not done, and the like of which I will never do again. 10 Therefore, (M)fathers will eat their sons among you, and sons will eat their fathers; for I will execute judgments on you and (N)scatter all your remnant to every wind. 11 Therefore as I live,’ declares the Lord God, ‘Because you have (O)defiled My sanctuary with all your (P)detestable idols and with all your abominations, I definitely will also withdraw and My eye will have no pity, and I also will not spare. 12 A third of you will die by (Q)plague or perish by famine among you, a third will fall by the sword around you, and a third I will (R)scatter to every wind, and I will (S)unsheathe a sword behind them.
13 ‘Then My anger will be spent and I will satisfy My wrath on them, and I will be (T)appeased; then they will know that I, the Lord, have (U)spoken in My zeal, when I have spent My wrath upon them. 14 Moreover, I will make you a site of ruins and a (V)disgrace among the nations that surround you, in the sight of everyone who passes by. 15 So [h]it will be a disgrace, an object of abuse, a (W)warning, and an object of horror to the nations that surround you when I (X)execute judgments against you in anger, wrath, and raging reprimands. I, the Lord, have spoken. 16 When I send against them the [i]deadly arrows of famine which [j]were for the destruction of those whom I will send to destroy you, then I will also intensify the famine upon you and break off your [k]provision of bread. 17 (Y)I will send on you famine and vicious animals, and they will bereave you of children; (Z)plague and bloodshed also will pass through you, and I will bring the sword on you. I, the Lord, have spoken.’”
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 5:1 Lit pass it over your head
- Ezekiel 5:1 Lit them
- Ezekiel 5:2 Lit it
- Ezekiel 5:3 Lit there
- Ezekiel 5:4 Lit go out
- Ezekiel 5:5 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord, and so throughout the ch
- Ezekiel 5:6 Lit in them, My statutes
- Ezekiel 5:15 Ancient versions you
- Ezekiel 5:16 Lit evil
- Ezekiel 5:16 Or are for destruction, which I will send
- Ezekiel 5:16 Lit staff
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